Vista Land earnings up 12% last year

MANILA, Philippines — Vista Land & Lifescapes Inc., the listed mall and property developer of the Villar family, reported a 12 percent growth in net income last year to P9.1 billion.

It is alloting P50 billion in capital expenditures this year as it continues to pump up its business. This is higher than the P37.4 billion capex last year.

In a briefing on Tuesday night, Vista Land president & CEO Manuel Paolo Villar said 2017 was a strong year for the company because of the country’s robust economy.

Villar said the company’s commercial assets and its core housing business contributed to the growth.

Consolidated revenues, meanwhile, grew 13 percent to P36 billion from P31.9 billion last year.

Among the different segments, the real estate business churned in P27.6 billion in revenues, up 10 percent, while leasing posted a 29 percent increase in revenues to P6 billion from P4.7 billion in 2016.

Vista Land chairman Manuel Villar, Jr. said that moving forward, the company remains optimistic on the industry after having another banner year for 2017.

“We are very pleased to report that 2017 is another banner year for the company,” Villar said.

“We are taking advantage of the synergies that we have unlocked between our residential and leasing businesses,” he added.

The company has successfully implemented the expansion of its leasing business ending 2017 with over one million square meters of gross floor area (GFA).

“We remain optimistic for the industry, given the robust demand for our housing products, as well as our success in our leasing business propelled by the steady growth in the disposable income, OF remittances, sound Philippine macroeconomic fundamentals, and the government’s drive to accelerate economic activities and infrastructure developments outside Metro Manila where we have a competitive advantage given that we have the widest geographic reach around the country,” said the elder Villar.

In terms of reservations sales, the company continued the 12 percent growth registered in the past three quarters to end the year at P64.5 billion sales.

Last year was also a record year for Vista Land in terms of project launches, Villar said.